Evolution_of_Formal_Organizations

Evolution of Formal Organizations Sociology 120 Rachelle Knapp May 8, 2011 Formal organizations in the past were based mostly upon hard work and dedication. You worked at your job and you would advance. People could go right from high school into a job that they could stay at for 30-40 years and be able to retire from. They made a steady income and were usually guaranteed a job. There were generally not any shortages or layoffs. Organizations were based upon a solid work ethic. But like everything else in this world, corruption played a role in organizations. People would do the wrong thing to get ahead. This seems to be a common thread throughout the ages. Older companies that did not advance technologically would have trouble keeping up with the demands of consumers while companies that embraced advances in technology were able to move ahead more quickly and evolve with the changing times. A good example of this would be when Henry Ford created mass production with his Model T Ford cars. He revolutionized the way things were made. Those companies that embraced this new technology were able to survive while the ones that did not and were subsequently closed. But many believe this new technology also hurt the old fashioned quality that people had come to expect with the old way of doing things. Handmade items became a thing of the past as mass production found its way into all facets of creating consumer goods. Organizations had to quickly adapt to the changing times if they wanted to stay in business. The benefits of this change were that companies became more efficient and were able to produce greater quantities of goods. It also made work less strenuous since there machines doing a lot of the work that was once done by hand. There still was no efficient way to store information. If a company needed to meet with a client it was done face to face. There no such things as conference or video calls. Computers were not even heard of. So the storing of information was done with paper and then filed away. Technology has continued to revolutionize the way companies do business. Information is at abundance. So are ways to store and process it. Face to face meetings are not as common nowadays as conference or video calls. Email has taken over as one of the mainstays of communication as well as instant messaging. Organizations have to have people in place just to handle the information they receive in a day. Formal organizations are structured from the top down. They start with a CEO or Chief Executive Officer and go down to the workers who are usually unskilled labor. In between those is a variety of other people that work at various positions depending upon experience and skill level. Everything from upper management, to middle management, to lower management, to again skilled labor, and then unskilled labor are all part of a more traditional organization. The rules and regulations are generally pretty straightforward and there will some that apply to everyone in the organization. But then there will be rules that apply more directly to each department. Generally speaking these rules and regulations are to be followed to the letter. In this day and age it seems that “office politics” has taken the place of a good work ethic to get ahead in a company. Granted education and skill still play a role. But it seems that having the right connections is just as important. This is not to say that are not still companies that value a hard working employee. But they do seem to be becoming far and few between. Getting ahead takes more and more of knowing the right people than working hard at your job. This is one major change between organizations from 100 years ago and those today. Formal organizations will tend to shy away from less formal settings in hopes of keeping order in within their organization’s structure. They may feel it would create too much chaos for the people in the organization. But there is something to be said for a more informal way of doing things to help people feel more at ease about the organization itself. Finding that balance between formal and informal can be difficult. But it is possible if it is done correctly. In order for Micah’s organization to become more informal and open, they would need to change the way things are done dramatically. Activities could be structured but more open for the organization’s members. Let them be more specifically designed for the people as opposed to the same for everyone. We are all different creatures and we like variety. Hierarchy could be slightly more laid back and less rigid. While there could certainly still be structure, there could be more leeway as far as who is in charge of what. Or perhaps qualifications could be more lax if hard work and dedications were recognized and valued. Norms or rules could perhaps be changed somewhat to make both the members and the leadership satisfied. Or at least perhaps let the members have a say in what rules should be in effect. Membership criteria could be less stringent and have fewer requirements. Or if circumstances were extenuating, perhaps a person’s case could be considered. As an example, say someone wanted to join a fire company and they had an old felony from when they were a teenager. The fire company might have a requirement that nobody with a felony, no matter what the circumstances, is allowed to join. But maybe if the felony was a non violent crime and it happened a long time ago, the company could decide to let them in since it was so long ago and nobody was hurt. Relationships could be more personable. People could meet more face to face. Maybe there could be a group meeting that would help everyone get to know each other better. Or even a party of some sort. Communications could be also more personable and maybe a bit more relaxed. Face to face communication goes a long towards building relationships. Focus could be a combination of both person and task oriented. Maybe people could work together on a task and accomplish more. All in all, an organization can be more flexible but still maintain order if it is done correctly. They just have to be willing to be change some things enough to make the members happy. And be willing to continue to change as the organizations grows. References Kieser, A. (1989). Organizational, Institutional, and Societal Evolution: Medieval Craft Guilds and the Genesis of Formal Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(4), 540-564. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Sundarasaradula, D., Hasan, H., Walker, D. S., & Tobias, A. M. (2005). Self-organization, evolutionary and revolutionary change in organizations. Strategic Change, 14(7), 367-380. doi:10.1002/jsc.739 Gulati, R., & Puranam, P. (2009). Renewal Through Reorganization: The Value of Inconsistencies Between Formal and Informal Organization. Organization Science, 20(2), 422-440. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.